Mashable, Mophie diagram our digital distractions on the move

Mashable has just shared an infographic from mobile accessories and services company Mophie on mobile data consumption – the data that mobile device users use while … well, mobile. According to the article, almost 83 percent of leisure travelers say that they use their smartphones all the time while on the move, while a typical user checks the device 34 times daily.

As it happens, none of the activities listed in Mophie’s infographic include reading ebooks. This is obviously going to be the case in a breakdown of “exactly how — and how much — data we use while we’re traveling.” After all, ebooks don’t in themselves consume data. And it’s worth bearing in mind just how much more smartphone usage is not accounted for by focusing purely on data consumption – for instance, listening to downloaded music or watching offline movies. So the usage calculations might look very different if the metrics are drawn a little more broadly.

All the same, this infographic and the accompanying commentary is a valuable guide to the level of the “constant din” of distractions for an onscreen reader on the move, and the competition that the ebook faces as what Tom Chatfield described as “part of the ebb and flow of everything else.”

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